Contents
Maig’s Hand
Title Verso
Acknowledgements
Dedication
PROLOGUE
ARKAELYON
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
EPILOGUE
Coming soon ….
Also available from Acclaimed Books Limited
Cover
Cover
Maig’s Hand
Book Two
Of
The Arkaelyon Chronicles
PHILLIP HENDERSON
Title Verso
The right of Phillip Gillanders (Phillip Henderson) to be identified as the Author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Copyright © Phillip Henderson 2011
All characters in this publication are fictitious and resemblance to real people, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any person who does so may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
ISBN-13: 978-1456418502
Cover art by Kadri Umbleja
www.iardacil.deviantart.com/
Published by Acclaimed Books.
www.acclaimedbooks.com
Acknowledgements
The writing of a book is always a collaborative affair and for that I owe a great deal of gratitude to a host of people. To the literary guides who provided illumination in the confusing and dark forest of storytelling, I thank you; Dr Bob Rich, for your knowledge and honesty when this manuscript was in its youth and Michael Carr for showing me how to polish the written word into gems and for your patience with a particularly slow learner of the craft. A special thank you must also go to Pat McManus for labouring through the first proofreading and never losing your sense of humour. And to Gill Lihou who did the final proof, and was most kind in her praise and diligent and thorough in her work. I would like to thank my agent at the time, Lois Bennett, and I am most grateful to my publisher, Peter Lihou of Acclaimed Books Limited, for taking this project on board despite its size. For all the other people who were involved in the writing of this book, I thank you for your part in the project. The good parts are yours. Any errors or failings are entirely mine.
Dedication
This one is for my insane family.
Never stop laughing.
PROLOGUE
The Prophecy of the Fall.
As the arrow finds a warrior on the field of battle, so, too, has the time of betrayal and death come upon you. But be not dismayed, for even as the fire of your enemies consumes your power, the way of your restoration is already whispered in the fates. A new Hand will soon walk among you to lead you from the shadows and take back what is lost this day. His return will be marked by a time of peace and plenty, when the Arkaelyon eagle and the white Wolf of Lunwraith are one. He will share a royal womb with a sister, and he will enter the world on her heels. When he comes to manhood, the religious zeal of an orthodox priest who thirsts for revenge on a blasphemous king will again bring the Arkaelyon throne—and my gifts to Larnius—within the ambit of your power. And just as the blood bat feeds on the sheep under cover of night, so, too, must you take the throne and recover my gifts. For only with these gifts can the new Hand restore what has been lost and lead you back from the shadowed places. But heed this warning: If the warp and weft of fate is to continue to turn in our favour, there are others whom you must defeat. The girl child born before Maig’s chosen Hand will have in her blood the touch of the First Mother. Druid’s Bane, she will be, a child of light, first of the five, and the deadliest of her kind since the days of beloved Larnius. Her blood must be shed on the Altar of the Eternal Shadows, for if she is allowed to know what she truly is, she can rob you of all that is promised.
ARKAELYON
(After the restoration)
Map by Ralf Schemmann
CHAPTER ONE
Kane found it difficult not to smile as he strode under the vast arched entrance of the Illandia Abbey. Grey smocked Scribes and robed clerics hurried about their business, and here and there, stationed at strategic places around the cavernous marble chamber, black attired guards watched over the bustle of activity with cold studying eyes. Kane paid them no attention as he crossed the marble-floored vestibule and started up the wide sweeping staircase to the Archbishop’s private chambers at the top of the Abbey’s tower.
Fren’s revelation of an hour ago and the decision he had made since had lifted him from the depths of despair to a place threatening euphoria. It wasn’t just the irony, he realised. Certainly, there was a deep sense of justice and satisfaction that Arkaelyon’s great deceiver himself was being deceived, and would pay for it with his life. But there was also a deep sense of excitement that the zealot’s mad offer made earlier in the day would actually come to pass. Kane de Brie would be Arkaelyon’s next high king. Why this feeling had never sat easily with Eden he could not understand. It was marvellous beyond measure.
That said, he knew Fren was only telling him what she wanted him to know, and he couldn’t say that he was exactly eager to meet her mysterious friends, even if they were devoted to his advancement and the death of his sister: curious, certainly, but not eager.
Two of the Archbishop’s personal servants stood guard at the top of the tower staircase. They swung open the double bronze doors on Kane’s arrival and he entered the luxuriously furnished vestibule that served as the waiting chamber to the Archbishop’s inner sanctum. A scribe approached at once and bowed. “You’re expected, Milord. I’ll go and make his Eminence aware of your arrival.”
The fellow had hardly disappeared into the inner sanctum before reappearing again. “This way, Milord.”
The Archbishop was waiting within, looking uncharacteristically nervous Kane noted with some amusement. He stood from where he had been sitting at his desk and barked at his servants to leave. Once they were alone he walked over to an ivory side table inlaid with gold leaf where a gold jug of wine and crystal goblets sat. “Can I assume this visit means
you have reconsidered my offer?”
“Let’s just say, I’d like to hear more about the matter you spoke on earlier.”
“I’m most pleased to hear that,” he said, as he filled two goblets.
Kane was studying the lavish chamber. He had been entertained in this sitting room numerous times and was long familiar with the other rooms of the Archbishop’s penthouse. But the wealth he saw on the walls and floors—even the ceiling was a work of art that had been painted by none other than Sir Framya la Mord, a famed Arkaelyon artist of the previous century—never failed to impress him. It made his own chambers look impoverished, and even the opulence of the Illandian palace paled by comparison.
“I would not be pleased just yet. I am here to listen, nothing more,” Kane replied evasively.
The Archbishop handed him a goblet and gestured to the balcony. The air was thick and damp, and the sky outside suggested the city might see more spring thunderstorms before dark.
“Where would you have me begin?” the Archbishop asked.
Kane had been giving that considerable thought, and after taking a sip of wine, he said, “My coronation would be a good place. After all, it’s somewhat unprecedented for the High Council to elect a king’s second son over the legitimate heir.”
“Unprecedented, true enough, but quite within the laws of ascension.”
“Can I take it that you mean to have Eden despatched along with my father?”
“I’m afraid not, certain things restrain my hand from that direction. However, Eden’s death isn’t necessary in securing your advancement in his stead. What we intend to do is use his loyalty to the reformist cause against him. The law allows the members of the High Council to vote against a legitimate heir if they feel his reign could be detrimental to the realm as you well know.”
“I’m not sure how that helps your cause. Even with my father dead, and his vote null and void, you do not have a majority in the High Council, let alone a majority that would support my ascension over Eden.”
“I’m afraid you’re wrong, Kane.”
“Who then, Renwick? He is more ambivalent of late toward my father and sister, but I would not trust him on a matter as weighty as this.”
“Yes, well, our dear Renwick is more in my pocket that you realise.”
“I find that hard to believe. The man is as straight as an arrow. He doesn’t take bribes, and we know what happens to those that have attempted to do so.”
“It isn’t church gold that has him in my pocket, Kane. Well, perhaps not pocket, as much as a long leash. You recall the tragedy that befell his good lady and their two sons last summer?”
“Of course. The duchess was always fond of me.”
“Well, sometimes things are not what they seem.”
“How so?”
“Let’s just say that the ship wasn’t lost with all hands in a storm as is thought. Rather, she was scuttled in the dead of night as part of a plan the church designed to seize the duchess and her offspring. I had a vessel shadow the Heron from Rense and board her in the Harrow Straits. The duchess and her children were seized, the crew and servants killed and the Heron sunk. From there, it didn’t take much to convince Renwick to support your ascension. It seems he’s very eager to see his wife and children again.”
“I’m sure he is.” Kane swung his attention to the city view. He didn’t need yet another reminder of the kind of fiend he was making a bedfellow. “So we have a hung council, and the matter of ascension forced to the decision of the members of the General Council.”
“Indeed, and I don’t need to tell you how that will fall, particularly after this morning.”
“I admit,” Kane said, “I am impressed; you have clearly worked hard on this.”
The Archbishop offered a gracious smile. “Amthenium is worth the effort, I believe.”
“Speaking of which, how many of the nobility are aware of the reason you are supporting my ascension?”
The Archbishop’s face clouded a bit. “Only a small group of nobles whose loyalty to the church is unquestionable. Treason is a dish best served in very small doses and among one’s closest familiars.”
“Renwick?”
“Hardly. The man only has to vote for your ascension, and he’ll have his good wife and children back. He needs know nothing more. It’s best not to push him, least he find some scruples and go to your father.”
“So how do you intend to get away with murdering my father and keeping the nobility to their word? You know they’ll suspect with the history between you and the palace.”
“As I made clear to your uncle, if our liege dies under natural circumstances there is nothing to question.”
“If he dies before his dotage, regardless of circumstances, there will be everything to question. So I hope you have answers, because I will not agree to this proposition unless I’m convinced it can be achieved.”
The Archbishop nodded, “Poison, then, if you must know.”
Kane laughed deridingly. He was beginning to wonder if Fren had got it wrong. This man was a fool who would more likely end his days on the gallows than as the Archbishop of holy Amthenium. “And when the royal alchemists discover it in his blood?”
The Archbishop smiled condescendingly. “They can’t discover what they do not know, Kane. You see I have come into possession of a poison whose very existence we knew nothing of until a year ago. It isn’t recorded in the alchemical codex, and is unlikely to be for some time, since only three men on the entire continent know of its existence and can make it.”
“Perhaps, but there will be suspicion, and that could be enough to link us. You know how fickle the nobles can be about things like this.”
“What if I told you, the symptoms are exactly the same as those associated with the ailment of the lungs?”
Kane smiled and took a sip from his goblet. Yes that was smart—he saw where this was going. Father suffered from that illness, it was well known. As a child it had almost claimed his life, and again after mother’s death he had come down with a severe bout that had him bed-ridden for several months and many worried that he may not recover. And only two years ago, the illness had forced him to cancel court for three weeks, and it had been months before he was fully restored.
“I see your point. But gaining the crown and keeping it are two different matters.”
“If you’re worried about your siblings, Kane, you needn’t be. If they refuse to bend the knee it will be treason.”
“Or conversely, Arkaelyon will dissolve into civil war the moment I’m crowned, upon which the term treason will be left to the prerogative of the victor, which is unlikely to be us.”
“You seem so certain of that,” the Archbishop said, surprised, before taking a sip from his goblet.
“The banners loyal to the reformist cause might be small, granted, but a good number of the standing army would side with Eden, the Lord Defender first among them. Hendrix is to Eden what Joseph is to Danielle. Then there’s the small problem of the free commoners, who are no more thickly gathered than inside the walls of this very city. Danielle would have but to give the word and Illandia would rise in a rebellion as bloody as the Noren Revolution. And we both know how that ended.”
“I accept your fears, but I assure you, they’re unnecessary. Believe me, my nobles, including your Uncle Dunston, and I have given a great deal of thought to finding answers to problems such as this.”
“And in this case?”
“First of all, you should know that of Lord Hendrix’s three generals, we have the loyalty of two; Lord Robert McLeod, and Lord Burchfield. Both are of the inner circle who are aware of the treason being plotted, and have sworn their swords to you when the time comes.”
“Even so, apart from a few lord knights, I expect more of their men will desert than bend the knee to me.”
“I have their word that it is quite otherwise. Their estimates are conservative they assure me, but at your accession they can promise the loyalty of a t
hird of Arkaelyon’s standing army, just over three thousand men, and all of them from the noble ranks and of higher skill than the common born soldiers. It’s also been decided that Lord Dominic, Lord Harrison, and Lord Stamdom of the local gentry will call their banner men and secretly march on Illandia on the eve of your election to help ensure the peace. Their lands are closest and they can be at the gates in less than a day. Once they arrive their knights will have instructions to ride for the palace with McLeod and Burchfield’s armies, and after your coronation, they will be your shields while we wait for Dunston’s banners to arrive. Our vastly superior numbers will see off any trouble during and after your ascension.”
“Even so, I’m not sure I want my siblings around court to plot against me once the matter is settled. A dagger can do the work of an army if it is well aimed.”
“True, but if you mean to be rid of them as I think, I’m afraid I must warn you against that—unless they give us just cause. In fact you need to know that your accession is conditional on the guarantee that your siblings are not harmed.”
Kane wasn’t surprised. “The nobles are concerned are they?”
“They want to restore a monarchy who will serve the interests of the established order without breaking with the continuity of the rule of law. They do not want a king who talks with his sword, and lets blood at a whim, as was the way of the druid overlords. And your temper and dislike of your sister is well known, and not a little feared. So I must have your word. Besides, your sister’s days as a member on our councils are numbered anyway. She made no friend’s in chambers today, which, Isaac informed me just before your arrival, is making his task of brokering support for our petition against her a great deal easier. And when no slaves are found on Lord Helidon’s estate, and we add malice to our complaint, I expect her expulsion will be a formality, particularly since the stalemate in the High Council after your father’s death will force the matter to the General Council. And if you want to be rid of her from around court, once you’re king you have the right to marry her off. I would think that would be sufficient to have her out of the way.”
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